Reykjavik has long been on my list of places to visit. I’d like to see the Aurora Borealis, sit in a thermal hot spring.

If only I had more vacation time.

If you happen to live in Baltimore MD, Boston MA, Minneapolis MN, New York (JFK) NY, or Orlando FL, you are in luck. Right now, go-today.com has package getaway to Reykjavik out of these cities starting at $599, plus taxes & fees, that includes both the airfare AND hotel.

The “Trip of the Month” feature is going to have to be pushed out until December.

I’m in the midst of preparing for my trip to Italy next week and have not been able to research the first trip of the month as extensively as I would like to. However, this feature will debut on December 3rd. If you’d like to offer a suggestion for the first trip of the month, please indicate the destination of your choice in the comments below, and I will randomly select the location. All suggestions must be received by Monday, November 19th in order to be considered.

In lieu of the “Trip of the Month”, I’m taking this time to announce an airfare deal I just became aware of. TRAVELOCITY is advertising airfares to Ireland, via Aer Lingus, starting at $159 + tax.

These prices are one-way and are available out of Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, or Washington D.C. to either Dublin or Shannon for travel by December 31, 2007.

Ireland was my first international trip, and it was wonderful! That was the vacation that opened my eyes to the world and ignited my passion for traveling. If you’re able, I highly suggest taking advantage of this offer.

I’m still fine tuning the way things will process here at Tightwad Tourist, figuring out what will allow me to bring you the most information I can while still allowing me to maintain my day job.

Yep, I have to keep my day job.

My initial goal here is to post articles twice a week

On Mondays I’ll be posting general travel tips on packing, searching for deals, anecdotes from my own adventures, reviews of various places I’ve stayed, interesting destinations, and more.

On Thursdays I’ll share with you deals I’ve come across that week, along with the links to where I found them.

One feature I’m really looking forward to is the “Trip of the Month”. On the first Monday of the month, I’ll post a featured destination and include the costs for airfare, hotel, as well as some of the activities and attractions in that area. I’m really looking forward to debuting this feature this coming Monday, November 5.

If you’d like to me on my email list to receive alerts as to whenever a new post is up, please comment below and I’ll add you to my list.

For years I dreamed of traveling the world, mainly Europe, but always assumed that it was beyond my budget. On December 31, 2005 I decided that I was done dreaming and that one of my New Years Resolutions for 2006 was to travel somewhere that required a passport.

I just had to decide where to go.

This was to be my first international trip ever, and I was going alone so I decided that an english speaking country would probably be best. Ireland had always been at the top of my list of places to see, so I decided that that was where I was headed. I was intimidated by many things – the anticipated costs, figuring out conversion rates, I was certain that I would find myself completely broke half way through my trip.

I knew that I had to do this on a budget.

I was able to make some creative choices to minimize costs, yet still enjoy myself the entire time without sacrificing any of the experience.

That was a vacation that changed my perspective of the world, and of myself. In Ireland, I learned that I can navigate this world solo, meet interesting people from different cultures, and have a fantastic time exploring different countries.

Since then, I have been back to Europe and have learned more tricks to efficiently budget. I’ve become a resource to friends and coworkers, helping them to plan trips, saving them anywhere from $200 to $400 off their original projected costs. I’ll share with you my tips on how and where to find affordable airfare, reasonable accomodations, and how to make the most of your budget.

Whether busting out the passport to spend a week in Europe, or just getting in the car for a weekend trip in your own state, travel can be as affordable as it is enjoyable.